1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to conduit unions. More particularly, the present invention relates to tools for attaching and releasing conduit unions from pipe connections. The present invention also relates to hammer unions whereby the force of a hammer is applied to hammer wings of the hammer union so as to tighten and release the union from the pipes.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
Threaded unions, in particular “hammer unions”, are commonly used in petroleum exploration and production to join conduits together, for example, conduits containing high-pressure fluids, such as drilling mud, fracturing fluids, and oil and gas produced incidental to drilling activities. Hammer unions are generally considered to be economical, simple, reliable and robust. They are very easy to make-up and break-out quickly. Examples of hammer unions include, but are not limited to, WECO™ brand hammer unions available from FMC Technologies of Houston, Tex. Typically, hammer unions are used in more temporary situations, such as joining together sections of joints used for pumping fracturing fluids into a well bore under high pressure. In these applications, hammer unions rarely loosen in service because the duration of the application is short. However, hammer unions may also be used in certain long-term applications for their ease of make-up and break-out, especially, for example, for equipment that may need to be replaced quickly and efficiently (e.g., rotary hoses for conveying drilling mud between a stand pipe manifold and a rotary swivel or top drive, or components of a choke manifold, such as valves, chokes and spools which may fail unexpectedly due to erosive flows).
In industrial piping, plumbing and flow lines systems, the hammer union or conduit union generally will receive some slight or significant degree of visible external damage because of the repeated direct contact use of a sledgehammer that is used against the hammer union or conduit union. In other circumstances, a common pipe wrench is applied. The common pipe wrench is equipped with serrated external gripping teeth on gripping jaws so as to automatically generate a visible bite so as to produce marring or deformation of the union. This can result in permanent marring or gouging of the conduit union.
Various service applications of different sizes and pressure ratings of conduit unions are available. Conduit unions are known to freeze-up and lock into a firmly jointably affixed non-adjustable or non-removable condition. This is often the result of a lack of thread joint lubrication and corrosion resistant compounds applied to the original male thread union half and corresponding female union half. This locked-in-place adhesion can also occur simply because of long-term usage. As a result, corrosion can occur which causes the conduit union to be frozen and non-operable.
The general forceful over-tightening of the conduit union can inherently create a situation where the user is unable to fully disconnect the jointably connected conduit union because of the over-rated force applied during the assembly. This makes the fully-assembled conduit union nearly impossible to remove or to disassemble for common replacement or repositioning purposes.
Standard hammer unions do not provide an adequate extended length and width contact surface for use with a sledgehammer. This can create a situation where the powerful sledgehammer swings are not correctly directed to the hammer wings of the conduit union, as the user is very likely to mis-swing or partially deflect a sledgehammer swing. This can result in strikes to a lower extremity of the sledgehammer user and can cause potential severe injury to the sledgehammer user. Additionally, the relatively small hammer wings of the hammer unions can cause the sledgehammer user to miss the hammer wings and cause strikes to undesired external surfaces, such as the conduits or surrounding piping.
In other circumstances, a common crescent wrench is utilized for applying a makeup or break-out of the conduit union. The crescent wrench is particularly developed for use in association with standard hexagonal-shaped or octagonal-shaped outer surfaces of the conduit union. These standard crescent wrenches are often known to break at the main adjustable and loosely-affixed jaw section when struck forcefully along the length of the handle with a hammer or other device.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to such hammer unions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,417,025, issued on Mar. 4, 1947 to A. S. Volpin, describes a hammer-lock union that has a bushing for connection to one pipe and a head for connection to the other pipe. A clamp ring engages the bushing. Interfitting portions on the head and ring exert a force so as to pull the bushing and head together upon relative rotation. The hammer union has means available for allowing the user to apply hammer forces so as to move the coupling from a locking position to a released position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,773, issued on Apr. 30, 1974 to H. Brune, describes a conduit union in which a gasket is disposable in sandwiched relation between the mating male and female elements of a conduit union. A cam surface is provided on the annulus and there is a formation on one of the union elements that conforms to and cooperates with the cam surface to constrict it into gripping and sealing relation with the conduit end and into sealing relation with the other conduit element when the union elements are tightened together.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,196, issued on Apr. 30, 1991 to Sabatier et al., discloses a union for fluid conduits. Each end fitting of the union has an end for fixing the fluid line and a coaxial metallic body terminating in an annular radial polished section where the internal bore of the union issues. A washer is made of a deformable synthetic material that is pressed on this metallic body and has a flat annular radial face which, together with the polished section, forms the free face for connecting the end fitting. A pair of clamping half-shells grip the two end fittings to ensure the connection of the fluid lines.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,109, issued on Jul. 20, 2004 to Richardson et al., provides a hammer union and seal. The hammer union includes a thread end, a nut end, and a hammer nut which, when cinched up, compresses a composite seal assembly so as to prevent leakage. The seal assembly comprises a metal insert of a size to pass into the seal groove of conventional hammer union and a small seal acting between the insert, the thread end and the nut end.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,125,055, issued on Oct. 24, 2006 to L. M. Dallas, discloses a metal ring gasket for a threaded union. The metal ring gasket is made up of carbon steel or stainless steel. The metal ring gasket has beveled corners and is received in a beveled annular groove on mating surfaces of the subcomponents of the threaded unit. When compressed in the annular groove between the subcomponents, the metal ring gasket creates an energized, high-pressure, fluid-tight seal that is highly resistant to pressure and is capable of maintaining a seal even at elevated temperatures.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,118,528, issued on Feb. 21, 2012 to L. Herndon, teaches a field-replaceable wing nut having an arcuate body and an arcuate insert. The wing nut is designed to replace an existing wing nut which has deformed or has non-useable lugs on a hammer union connection. The wing nut has accurate alignment of the mounting threads using an alignment attachment device.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,408,605, issued on Apr. 2, 2013 to J. P. Curtiss, provides a hammer union lock that has a threaded union nut configured to couple abutting ends of a threaded nipple on a distal end of a first joint and a shouldered nipple on a distal end of a second joint. There is a lower wedge and an upper wedge positioned within an offset distance formed between a lower surface of the union nut and an upper surface of an enlarged section of the shouldered nipple.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0048069, published on Mar. 1, 2012 to D. Powell, discloses a tool for hammer unions. In particular, this tool is in the nature of crescent wrench. There is a hammer-union-receiving clamp at one end of the tool. Slots are provided within the head of the tool so as to engage the hammer wings of the hammer union. A handle extends outwardly from the head so as to allow a leveraged force to be applied so as to make-up or break-out the hammer union.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,139,068, issued on Oct. 31, 2000 to Burress et al., provides a union lock for maintaining connection between a pair of conduits. The union lock provides a pair of bridgepieces. Each of the bridgepieces has an elongated member. A substantially semicircular flange is coupled to each end of the elongated members. A tab is coupled to each end of the flanges. Each tab has a hole formed therein for receiving a connector. A substantially circular flange is provided at the end of the elongated members.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that fits all conduit union sizes, shapes and pressure ranges.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that allows for the removal of worn and seized-in-place conduit unions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that reduces downtime and improves safety.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that provides a large strike surface and an improved strike hit contact ratio.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that reduces accidental strikes to secondary surfaces adjacent to the conduit union.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that provides 360 degrees of protection to the conduit union.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that applies generally equal force around the entire circumference of the tool.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that improves manipulation of poorly-installed piping systems.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that is reuseable.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that minimizes direct damage to the conduit union.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that allows for more forceful hammer blows.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that facilitates the use of the tool in tightly confined work environments.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that facilitates release of over-tightened conduit unions.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a conduit union tool that prevents vandalism or sabotage.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.